"The Lives of English Majors"

Thanks to the Rapid City Journal today for pointing out that there are some uses for us (or is that "we"?) English majors in utilitarian America.

One of the best reasons to become an English major is that you are almost guaranteed to learn about people as they exist in the world. Psychology, sociology, business, economics -- none can rival the study of English literature in penetrating to the heart of why people are the way they are. History may be the only other discipline that comes close.

The ability to write quickly and clearly is increasingly rare.*

I heard from my boss just today: "You're good at writing press releases, and fast." (I resisted the urge to correct him: "...writing press releases quickly," I could have said).

Will this earn me a hefty six-figure salary? I'm not counting on it. But it's good to hear someone else affirm that studying and writing about Shakespeare, Conrad, Eliot and Faulkner wasn't a complete waste of time and energy. It certainly didn't feel like it at the time.

*Clear, concise writing is never guaranteed on this blog. Stream of consciousness writing is fair game, as are truncated sentences and misspellings.